"Jack!" Jens said softly as he stood by the hospital bed in the infirmary. "Can you hear me?" There was no response. Jens put his ear to his chest. The Captain's skin was cool and his heartbeat was slow. He straightened in the dim light and adjusted the second quilt around the swollen body for more warmth. He bent down and kissed him on the forehead. Again, no response.
The young Time Lord was elated at the news that Jack had been rescued, but when the Captain was transferred back to their sickbay, his joy turned to dread when he saw how still he was, unresponsive. When Mara examined Jack's body, she explained that he was in a comatose state; a death-like sleep, unable to respond normally to sound, light or touch. He would occasionally move his lips as if to say something, but no sound came.
"Jens!" called Mara from the corridor. "We need more beds!"
His TARDIS was flooded with men and women injured in the battle with the Adyans rebels. The Conservancy medics brought stretcher after stretcher inside as Kira set up rooms to accommodate the flow of the wounded.
He leaned down and gently kissed the Captain on the forehead. "You're safe now." Most of the bruises had healed, but he could see what damage had been done. "Do you hear me, Jack? You're safe." Nothing. A tear formed at the edge of his eye and slowly moved down his cheek before he quickly brushed it away.
"Jens!" Mara called again. "We need you. Now!"
Jens turned towards the door and nodded to the Catkin doctor. "I'm coming." In his haste to tend to Jack, he had not noticed their daughter, Toshi, had silently slipped in, and stood at the back of the room.
He motioned to her to come closer. She hesitated and than joined him at the bedside.
"Is he going to be OK?" she said quietly. She'd never seen her father like this. Jens put his arm around her shoulders. He could feel the tension.
"This make take awhile, but you know how he is when this happens," he said as he pulled her in for a hug. "He always comes back. Especially for you. You know that."
"Jens!" There was increasing traffic in the hall. "We need you!"
"Stay with your father," Jens said. "I'll be back." Toshi took his place as Jens left to instruct Kira, his TARDIS, on how to prepare the new hospital rooms for the incoming injured.
Toshi sat down and picked up her father's hand. It was warm, but did not respond to her touch. She missed his strength. The father who used to pick her up and swing her high, now lay motionless on a hospital bed. The father who insisted everything would turn out right was still and lifeless.
"Dad," she whispered as she kissed him on the cheek. "Can you hear me?"
A faint smile traced his lips and disappeared.
"Dad?" Toshi squeezed his hand. "Squeeze back if you can hear me."
Nothing. Ajit slipped into the room behind her as she put her father's hand to her lips and kissed it.
"No recognition?" asked Ajit softly as he put his hand on her shoulder. Toshi shook her head sadly, as Ajit stood behind and wrapped his arms around her.
"He's strong, your father," he whispered as he wiped a tear from her cheek.
But she had never seen him like this. Never like this.
"Dad…" Toshi choked as she put Jack's hand down by his side, lay her head against it, and silently wept.